Lou’s Inbox: Walt Disney World Marathon Registration

Editor’s Note: Lou’s email inbox is often full to overflowing with questions from listeners. As such, he has enlisted the WDW Radio Blog writers to assist him in answering some of your questions.

“Hello Lou! I’ve been thinking about marathon weekend for a while and I think your podcast may have pushed me over the edge. My question is, when does registration typically open for a marathon weekend and how can I keep informed, so I don’t miss it. I listen to all of your news podcasts, so perhaps there is my answer? Keep up the good work! Mark Cushman”

Hi Mark! This is Vanessa from the WDW Radio Blog Team. Since Lou is not a runner, I said I would answer this question for him. I love everything Disney, and five years ago I discovered runDisney and began running for the first time in my life. Now I’m addicted. And in January 2017, I will be running in the Dopey Challenge at the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. The Dopey Challenge is the 5k, 10k, half and full marathon challenge and takes place over four days with all runs going through the various parks at Walt Disney World Resort.

Registration for runDisney can be found on their website under the events tab. Typically the registration opens anywhere from 7 to 9 months in advance of the event. This year registration for marathon weekend 2017 opened in April 2016, nine months prior to the event. You can sign up for an email reminder for registering for a certain run at runDisney. If you are on Facebook or Twitter the runDisney pages also have reminders that registration will be opening on a particular date.

Disney Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club members can register for events beginning one week prior to the published registration dates. There are a limited number of registrations available for AP and DVC so signing up at noon on the first day is highly recommended. You can access this through their respected member benefits pages.

After you decide you are going to register for a run, you will need to be prepared for the craziness of registration day. The most important thing is to make sure you sign up for an Active.com account a few days before registration opens. That way, you will be ready to go on registration day by being signed into your Active.com account before going to the runDisney site. This is important because once you are in the registration queue you only have 15 minutes to fill out the form. Since the Tinker Bell Half Marathon just opened registration on September 20, I have included the runDisney information on how to register. In the past many races, especially the 5k, 10k and half marathon sell out very quickly, like in less than an hour! If you miss getting into a race because it sold out, runDisney also provides links to charities who may still have bibs for sale.

Did you know that Lou and WDW Radio have a running team? The WDW Radio Running Team raises money for The Make-a-Wish Foundation of America through the Dream Team Project. Once you are a member you have access to their private Facebook group where over 500 members from around the world discuss running and everything Disney and offer support for everyone.

The good news for 2017 is that the full marathon, Goofy’s Race and a Half, and Dopey Challenge have not sold out as of October 1, 2016. So if you are feeling up to it, you can still run in 2017! I hope this helps answer your question about runDisney registration dates.

If you have more questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments below. Hope to see you at a runDisney event in the future!

Vanessa has been going to Walt Disney World since 1971. She is happy that her three children and husband enjoy Disney as much as she does. Vanessa is an Annual Passholder, a member of Disney Vacation Club, Platinum Castaway Club, WDW Radio Running Team and a runDisney participant. Her son Andrew writes Disney on Wheels for the WDW Radio blog. When she is not at Disney she is a stay at home mom and uses her masters in marketing background to raise money for her children’s schools. Vanessa also enjoys planning her next trip home to anywhere Disney.